As Good As New Thrift Shop | Application Preview
As Good As New Thrift Shop is seeking government grants to secure a store building or lease space, purchase retail fixtures, and make necessary improvements. The goal is to establish a physical location, while also expanding sales through live auctions on Whatnot, and to hire 2 to 4 employees.
The shop aims to serve a diverse community demographic, including low-income residents who need affordable clothing and home goods, as well as middle to higher-income individuals looking for great deals. This initiative strives to address a significant need in the local area.
In terms of competition, As Good As New faces established players like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, which rely on donated goods and employ strategies to keep their inventory fresh. Additionally, Plato's Closet focuses on consignment and donations of nearly new clothing.
As Good As New differentiates itself by accepting consignments, donations, and purchasing bulk pallets of new items. The shop offers a competitive return of 25% to 50% to consignors and employs a unique tagging system for discounts, ensuring a well-managed inventory. Donations that do not meet the shop’s criteria are given to local charities.
Looking ahead, the owner is also interested in potentially transforming the business into a nonprofit to support the construction of group homes for adults and children with disabilities, inspired by personal experience with a family member who has Cerebral Palsy. Partnerships with organizations like Habitat for Humanity could further this goal.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 88-2989724
Location: Colona, IL, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: YES
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Funding Usage
To purchase a store building or lease start-up. I also need retail fixtures as well as make improvements to any building or lease space.
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Business Plan
I hope to grow my business by expanding to a brick and mortar location and open a seller account to sell in live auctions on Whatnot. I also hope to add at least 2-4 employees. I am an avid thrift shopper. Our small town has a low income demographic that would benefit from a place to purchase low cost clothing and home goods. We also have a middle to higher income demographic that is always looking for a great deal. This shop would fill a need in our community.
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Self Identified Competition
1) Goodwill-takes donated goods and resells them in nearly any condition that is usable. They have regular discounts to keep inventory moving. 2) Salvation Army Store- like Goodwill it takes donations for resale and to help people in need. They use much the same strategy as Goodwill to rotate their stock. 3) Plato's Closet- takes consignment and donations of like new clothing and some other goods. They resell them and give the consignor a percent of the final sale price. They donate uncollected consignor clothing and items to local charity. I take consignments, donations and I also purchase pallets of new and new return items in bulk. I then sell them at discount prices. I only accept items with original packaging or tags for consignment. I offer 25% to 50% return to the consignor. I sort donations into new, like new & gently used. Items that are usable but do not fall into our guidelines are donated to local charities that pass them along to people in need. I also rotate my stock with a tag color system, and offer discounts for the featured tag color. I may at some point look into becoming a non-profit to raise money to build group homes to benefit Adults and Children with disabilities. My son is an adult with Cerebral Palsy. Group homes for adults like him are few and far between. I would love to partner with Habitat for Humanity and any other organization that could help build group homes.
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Contact Applicant
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